BigMxRadio
For this week’s edition of Five Guys, we reached out to five individuals who I have a ton of respect for. Leading thing off, we called Zach Osborne. The five-time AMA champion who clawed his way back to top supported teams in America after many years grinding out a career in MXGP.
Next, I had to hit up my buddy Nick Tomasunas whose popularity grows by the day. For the kids looking to set yourself apart on social media, take notes. Then we got Chris Elliott from Team Solitaire. Ever wondered the ins and outs of running a 250SX West Region Supercross team? Chris takes us behind the curtain with some serious insight.
Speaking of Race Tech engines, check out our fourth guy, Chris Reisenberg. Chris is the marketing boss at Race Tech and always has his finger on the pulse of the sport.
Last but surely not least, pro mechanic Michael Shaw puts down his wrenches to talk about how him and Jared Lesher make a 250 two-stroke competitive against modern 450s.
These are hot of the grill and it’s time for another helping of Five Guys.
Zach Osborne – AMA Champion
Vurbmoto: When you look back at your amateur days, what memories stand out the most?
Zach: The biggest standout for me would be my time in Europe as a teenager. Those are some core memories for me and a huge part of why the transition to racing GP’s there went as well as it did.
What could you have done differently about your transition into the pro ranks?
Waited longer and hired a trainer. Circumstances around it all were a bit strange but that would be my two key takeaways.
What memories do you have of racing World Mini as an amateur and are you experiencing extreme FOMO (fear of missing out) this yeah at Mesquite MX April 6-9?
I definitely don’t have FOMO lol. I just remember going to circus and being there in the big city as a kid was so crazy to me being from small town Virginia. I always did well there and enjoyed the track. One of these years I might have to come back and race the vet class.
What was it like for you as a young racer moving into the pro ranks and getting beat soundly for likely the first time in your career?
Losing was a new and large lesson for me. I did a lot of winning as a kid and it was tough to not only get beat but get 20th and that was the best I could do. Looking back though I know that learning to take it on the chin, pack up and keep working is what really made me a champion so there’s something to be taken from the hard L’s and sometimes the L’s are bigger in the grand scheme than the wins if you look at it as a whole picture.
What advice would you give to a young Zach Osborne and would you give him that advice or let him experience life and learn the way you did?
I think I’d have to let him learn the way he did because those lessons are the best ones of my life but if I had to say something it would be “stay the course”. Success could be just around the next bend, but you’ll never know if you quit.
Nick Tomasunas – @nicktomasunas – MX Locker
Vurbmoto: What forced your decision to stop chasing the dream of being a professional racer but stay on a dirt bike and connect with the community another way?
Nick: Honestly, I was on the gate for 450 moto 1 at RedBud last year and I asked myself “what am I doing here? I don’t enjoy this and I’m risking everything for essentially a pat on the back.” It woke me up to what truly matters to me on my own journey in life.
What surprised you about developing your current following?
Probably that it’s a lot more difficult than people think to develop an actual “following” vs just having a bunch of numbers next to your name.
How has your approach changed during your time creating content?
I actually don’t dread going riding anymore [laughs]. I also absolutely love the feeling of pushing my limits doing something I enjoy, then coming back and seeing the photo or video of it. It inspires me to continue creating my own lane.
What’s been the single most rewarding or mind-blowing moment since you started this journey?
People coming up to me asking for photos, autographs, advice, etc. I never had any of that until I altered my path away from professional racing. The number of DMs I get with people saying I inspire them or that they replicated their bike after mine is truly mind blowing. I haven’t gone to a track lately without at least a handful of people coming up to me, no matter where I am. It’s very humbling and motivates me to continue pushing forward.
What is a common misconception about MX Locker and why should people check it out?
A lot of people think we are like a retailer or brick and mortar store. We are a peer-to-peer marketplace, and we hold no inventory ourselves. Everything you see on MX Locker is listed by another rider or store somewhere in the world. We give people the opportunity to turn their old gear/parts/bikes into cash to make the ridiculously expensive sport of motocross more affordable. Plus, there are some super cool items that show up time to time that the public would normally never be able to access.
Chris Elliott – Team Manager – Team Solitaire
Vurbmoto: What’s the most common misconception about running a 250 Supercross team?
Chris: Well since this is Vurbmoto, I think we need to have a bit of fun with a couple questions, so here is one of my fun answers, but also kind of dead serious and I can safely say on behalf of smaller teams: WE DO NOT GET TICKETS FOR FREE, we pay for tickets when you ask for them. So every time we have to buy tickets, that money comes out of the Bailey (Thury’s dog) toy and treat budget.
How far out do you start planning for each season and when is the latest into the offseason you’ve still been coordinating things that haven’t come together yet?
This is a good question! So, in some cases, we are doing sponsor contracts and rider talks a year out and then when it comes to season plans like gear schedule, graphics, special rounds, parts, testing, etc. it’s about two weeks after the checker flag flies at the season finale. Like riders who build a base in training during pre-season, I would say the majority of our work is done between June to December, and then we execute on the foundation we’ve built January to May.
What’s been your proudest moment as a team manager?
For Clarky [Ryan Clark] and I, it’s really just about seeing this thing grow and improve the way it has. I mean I have been pretty outspoken about how some teams run at a loss but are praised for doing a good job, which is absolute nonsense and that kind of ties into my answer. We’ve always raced within our means and sometimes we lose out on certain riders or equipment, but that’s life. Our wives would kill us if we spent our own money to do this because we have too many kids to put through college still. This industry is full of riders not getting paid, teams over spending, and then disappearing after a year or two. Believe me, I could probably write a 18,297,219,717,098 word essay about our sport and the money/business side, but I’ll share you that. We’ve built something that is far, far, far from perfect and to scale much, much smaller than a factory team, but in its own little circus of an eco-system, we have been able to sustain it like a business for now. And that has been cool to be a part of.
Who is the hardest working person on the team aside from Ryan Clark?
Well, I’m still trying to figure what Clarky actually does day to day, but this is an easy answer: it’s my guy Eric Angelski. Jelly as I have called him since the day I met him is our best kept secret. He has been with Ryan and I the longest. He has gone from intern, to mechanic, to a mechanic plus engine builder, to now a guy who is all of the above listed, plus some! The best part about him is he will work for Pop-Tarts and Red Bulls, with the biggest smile on his face.
If you could bring back one athlete who used to race for you who currently doesn’t anymore, who would it be?
I am big fan of Robbie and the Wageman family! Obviously, I wanted results and him to get a shot at a factory ride, but at the end of the day it never mattered how Robbie did to me as long as he gave it his all and was happy. I just loved having his family and friends around every weekend.
Chris Reisenberg – Marketing Manager – Race Tech
Vurbmoto: How much on a lifeline can Race Tech suspension and engines be to a Supercross privateer from a support standpoint as well as being able to find local service centres across the nation?
Checkers: Race Tech has made a decision to invest into our R&D budget instead of the marketing budget to get our stickers on bikes. The riders benefit because our staff and resources are available to support them, and our customers benefit because we learn about a large range of bikes from a large range of riders.
Different Chris: When you add in a local RT Center, the rider then has access to a technician in their backyard for testing, tuning, and service while still getting settings developed with over a million-dollar R&D budget and global support.
When it comes to suspension, what are some of biggest misconceptions and mistakes you see riders and families making?
1. Installing front wheel/forks wrong. You can see the proper way on the instructions page on our website.
2. Setting sag wrong or not setting it at all. See above.
3. Not servicing suspension regularly. We recommend a rebuild every 20-30 hrs to prevent additional damage and maintain proper performance.
4. Using low quality seals/fluids.
5. Listening to people who claim to know, but don’t actually know!
If your son or daughter had dreams of racing at the highest level possible, what would be your course of action to help them get there?
Mine do! But I’m trying to steer them to just enjoy riding and being weekend warriors. It’s a HUGE commitment and the families that do it are incredible.
I advise my youth kids that are at a level to try and make it to keep it fun, get gate drops, and learn SX early! It’s easy to start chasing the spotlight and get “factory” support early, but you don’t want to burn out at 16, you want to be hitting your prime and improving then!
What’s the magic behind the gold valve? What’s been the key to its evolved popularity and success?
There is no magic behind the Gold Valve. Suspension isn’t a black art. It’s a combination of science, math, rider feedback and all the data they each provide. The Gold Valve is constantly evolving and provides improved flow. Race Tech puts the emphasis on the valving stack that is personalized for each rider and is 100% guaranteed.
Who in the privateer ranks would you say do the best job representing their supporters and sponsors and what can others learn from how they execute?
I’ve watched Tyler Evans, Ryan Clark, Stank Dog and more create their own following as privateers. I watched my best friend Cody Gilmore triple his budget by being himself instead of being the guy “grinding” chasing a factory deal. It’s similar to the openness of Logan Karnow creating his own niche audience.
Alex Ray crushes it for his sponsors because his media relationships. Some of my guys sell more suspension and engines without stickers on their bikes because their local following knows the truth.
But the other guys really doing great on and off the track are Justin Starling and Kevin Moranz. They have great results on the track too.
Michael Shaw – Mechanic – Jared Lesher
How did you start working on bikes and eventually become a mechanic for Jared?
Michael: I have been working on anything with two wheels for as long as I can remember, taught myself everything, just paid attention to how things come apart, read shop service manuals, and researched forums and YouTube for answers to problems. I moved up to Georgia from Florida, was helping some friends with bike stuff, and also doing photography at the races. Jared was coming back from a bad wrist injury, so he was racing some local stuff for some gate drops and money and I was taking pictures and he stood out. We started talking, his dad was busy with work stuff so I offered to help where I could, and eventually one thing led to another and now we have been working together for about four years now.
Tell me about the mechanic/rider relationship. What’s most important within that relationship? I understand you also manage a lot of things for Jared.
Our relationship is awesome. We have a lot of similar interests, guns being a big one, but we get along great, have a lot of fun on the road. There is never a dull moment when it’s the two of us together. He’s a best friend, brother, and rider to me, and with that comes a lot of trust, which is huge for a rider/mechanic relationship to work. At this level, the rider needs to trust that his mechanic has prepped his bike perfectly and it will perform every time he throws a leg over the bike. I also manage his sponsorships, so I deal with the applications, contracts, emails, and things like that so it’s less of a worry for him, and I also run his Instagram and Facebook pages. It is a lot, but the more I can do for him, its less he needs to worry about and more he can focus on riding.
How do you make a 250 two-stroke more competitive against the modern four-strokes?
The easy answer is to send the motor to Derek Harris at HP Race Development and have him work his magic. The bike is so fast, and at this point we are just nitpicking little things to make it even better and get the power and delivery exactly where we need it for supercross. We are in talks with FMF to make a custom pipe to improve that as well, but between the motor package Derek has made us, the head inserts provided by Phathead, and a well-tuned carb, the bike absolutely flies. Obviously if it doesn’t handle well, it doesn’t matter at all, so the Enzo Suspension we run also helps.
How would you like to see this program grow in the future?
This year the program has exploded. It has been unreal the amount of support we have gotten, either at the races or on social media or with media outlets, it has been insane. The numbers we have on Instagram are insane to us and having the biggest moto media outlets, multiple podcasts reaching out to us, it has been unreal. As far as the future, we just want to continue to grow the fanbase, hopefully fall in front of the right eyes as far as a title sponsorship and keep the ball rolling. We have had the same sponsors for multiple years now, so the parts and brands we work with are great, but now we just need that one title sponsor that wants to get on board and help us out financially getting to all the races each week.
Is there any difference in prepping the bike for Arenacross or Supercross? If not, is there a different approach from Jared knowing he’s more competitive in that series and a contender for wins?
There is a little different setup for the Arenacross stuff. The tracks are a lot tighter, so having the gearing right, and the power delivery quick is key. So, we will alternate between different head inserts for higher compression to give the bike a bit more snap off the bottom, switch to a more aggressive map, and depending on how small the track is, go up a tooth in the rear. Keeping the wheelbase as short as possible as well to get the bike to corner better helps, but the YZ250 already corners so good, it’s really hard to make it much better. As far as Jared and the mindset going into the races, he knows he can win in the Arenacross series, and has proven it this year already, but the intensity is different. The races are a lot shorter, the lap times are short, and the racing is aggressive. So, getting a good start and passing quick is key, whereas in Supercross you usually have time after the start to let the pack settle in and then go to work. Arenacross it’s from the moment the gate drops to the very end, the intensity is up, especially when you know KP [Kyle Peters] is coming. Jared really loves the Arenacross style racing and so do I. Robby over there has a lot of great things going with the series, and his plans for the future are promising, so I think more guys will see that as a possible option, even just for when the series goes to the opposite coast, but others may just choose to run that series start to finish as it is better pay, better publicity for them, and they have a much better opportunity to have an interview on Live TV to thank their sponsors, which they love.
That’s it for another edition of Five Guys so I hope that satisfied your moto appetite. Be sure to check out recent episodes of the BigMx Radio podcast and if you haven’t registered for World Mini or snagged any new Vurbmoto apparel lately, GROW UP!
Big Dog… out.
Main image: Team Solitaire
